Daredevil Now Live

Yes, I’ll be reviewing it, but not for a little while unless I wind up reviewing chunks rather than the whole thirteen-episode season. (Yes, Netflix released them all at once. What did you expect? It’s Netflix. Binge-watching is encouraged.) While I’m down with particularly severe fibromyalgia symptoms for the third day in a row, which would make for a perfect time to binge-watch, I’m scheduled to watch it with someone else after work tonight. We probably won’t finish it this weekend.

But for those of you who are still sticking around and not clicking that oh-so-shiny link, let’s talk Daredevil for a bit.

I don’t claim to be a comics geek. I enjoy them, but I never had the ability to catch up on them without delving into illegal downloads, and now that I have the cash for it I find I don’t have the time. There’s a lot of stuff out there, and it can be intimidating to jump into it. That gets even worse when you’re a completionist. (Seriously, I have wound up temporarily abandoning TV shows because I managed to miss an episode and decided I’d rather wait until it was out on DVD than risk missing a single moment.)

Daredevil was one of those superheroes that I missed beyond a casual acquaintance. I know his backstory, I know his powers, I know a bit of his personality, but beyond that I really only encountered him when he crossed paths with Spider-man. Spidey was, and remains, my favorite; it probably has something to do with the combination of being the little guy surviving on his wits, his snarky one-liners that he can’t quite manage when not behind a mask, and the general fun of him being a certified geek with superpowers. Spider-man was the one character I managed to keep tabs on, at least until I hit college. Beyond that, there were the X-Men, and a few scattered titles that I’d find used or in omnibus form on occasion.

Daredevil rarely seemed to pop up, which I found intriguing by itself. Here we have a hero who’s basically a cross between Batman and Spider-man. He has the Dark Knight’s narrow and grim focus, but the Wall-Crawler’s level of resources and talent for using the slightest advantage in unexpected ways. From what I understand after reading up on the Netflix series, there was a bit of a revival of the character after I hit college, so I’m looking forward to how that works. Had I done my research sooner, I’d have found out about the specific series Netflix is adapting and probably read it already.

What I’m particularly intrigued about, however, is that Daredevil is not only part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, just like Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter, but is launching a new branch of the MCU, so to speak. We’ll be looking at three more series (set around Iron Fist, Luke Cage, and Jessica Jones), followed by a Defenders team-up series.

And, as you can see from the trailers, we’ve got cinematic quality here. Netflix has invested heavily in this project, beyond any direct royalties they could get at this juncture. Apparently they’re using this as a loss-leader, but it also makes me think that they expect the tie-ins to be pretty heavy.

How that might happen is unknown, but if I were writing this, then I’d be looking at showing the difference between the “spy world” of the ABC shows, the “big picture” of the main movies, and a “little guy” focus with the Netflix series. That’s in line with the Daredevil/Defenders style, but I’m expecting things to overlap in a way to reinforce it.

One interesting bit of speculation I found (it comes from my friend Ross, actually) is that now that Spider-man is in the MCU, we might see some Defenders crossover with him, rather than with the Avengers per se. After all, Spider-man has always bridged the gap between the big and small stuff, and he’s had past ties in the comics with both superhero teams. The Defenders arc was set before Spider-man was released for MCU use, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they left some wiggle-room open, just in case.

Either way, reports are that Daredevil is a great show, and I’m looking forward to sharing my thoughts on it soon!

Novel Ninja (n):

1) A person who uses subtlety and a vast array of skills to bring out the best in a story, preferably when the audience least expects it. E.g.: an editor.
2) A blog run by freelance editor Matthew Bowman, focused on advice for writers and reviews for readers.

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